I often see this argument but I don’t buy it.

People used to study the items they were buying, not look at the brand.

You (probably) live in a hyper capitalistic society where many corporations promote their brands through lies and deception. That is a very strong filter already - avoid the (mostly American) transnational giant corporations and buy from companies that are mostly local and aren’t hyperscaling.

Sure the mainstream brands are shit but there are dozens, hundreds of brands for a fair price point that aren’t for every shitty corporation.

Don’t buy Levi’s, buy Nudies.